iTunes Match Beta Released, Apple's iTunes in the Cloud Coming

On WWDC this year, Apple has announced a complementary iTunes Match service that will allow users put their existing collection of ripped CDs in the cloud. The service could scan users’ library and match songs to the versions Apple already has, rather than upload everything. Late Monday evening, Apple seeded a new iTunes 6.1 beta with iTunes Match functionality to developers which contains early support for streaming music.

iTunes Match Beta is just a part of the release of iTunes 10.5 beta 6.1. Users have to download iOS 5 Beta and iTunes 10.5 Beta 6.1 with iTunes Match and install it. The service will run $24.99 a year, which allow users mirror up to 25,000 tracks in their iCloud, and those songs can be pulled down to any iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, as well as synced with Macs or PCs running iTunes. This contains tracks ripped from CDs or downloaded from the Internet, even those users may have obtained in a less-than-legal manner.

If there is a match found in the iTunes Store catalog, that track is automatically and immediately added to users’ iCloud store in 256Kbps, DRM-free iTunes Plus format. Even if users have a crappy 128Kbps mp3 rip, if iTunes Match can identify it, they will immediately have access to the iTunes Plus version. If there is no match for the obscure French electronica or Detroit garage punk songs, those will be uploaded as-is to users’ iCloud store. So in theory, users only have to upload a small portion of your collection of music. Apple's efforts to strike licensing deals with record labels gives its music-in-the-cloud service one major feature over recently announced competing services from Amazon and Google. The automatic matching is in sharp contrast to Amazon Cloud Player and the Google Music Beta, both of which require all songs to be uploaded, which Apple contends could take weeks.

So if Apple shares any information about users' scanned libraries with third parties. The answer is “no”, so the RIAA won't suddenly have a list of every song users ever downloaded or ripped. For the purposes of accounting, though, Apple does share aggregate information about which tracks are being added to iCloud via iTunes Match. It means that EMI will be able to know that 2 million users have Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" in their library, but not which particular users have it.

If iTunes Match launder Pirated Music? Another interesting thing about iTunes Match is that it doesn't only contains the music that users buy through iTunes. Apple will also sync any music users own which has a match among the 18 million songs in the iTunes store to all of users’devices. Is that means Apple had effectively created a way for users to pirate songs from wherever and have Apple launder their files, exchanging them for clean ones. In fact, iTunes Match will drive a subscription future. Why? iTunes Match will cost $24.99 a year, and Apple is doing deals with labels and publishers to sanction this service. Apple’s iTunes Match will help get people back in the habit of paying for music. Apple’s iTunes Match is going to be useful for where the music industry is all headed: subscription services. The subscription services may be the trend in the future five to ten years.